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County Employment and Wages in Texas – Third Quarter 2015

Employment rose in 24 of the 27 largest counties in Texas from September 2014 to September 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2014 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that one Texas county ranked among the top 10 nationwide for job growth. The 6.1-percent employment gain in Denton County was the fastest in the state and ranked third nationwide. In contrast, employment fell in Ector, Midland, and Gregg; annual percentage job losses were evident in most industry sectors, but were led by natural resources and mining. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, employment advanced 1.9 percent from September 2014 to September 2015 as 312 of the 342 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Williamson, Tenn., recorded the fastest employment gain in the country, up 6.5 percent. Ector, Texas, experienced the largest over-the-year decrease with a loss of 8.3 percent; employment in Ector’s natural resources and mining sector fell 28.4 percent.

Among the largest counties in Texas, employment was highest in Harris County (2,287,600) in September 2015, followed by Dallas County (1,616,800). Three other counties, Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis, had employment levels exceeding 600,000. Together, the 27 largest Texas counties accounted for 81.1 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 342 largest counties made up 72.2 percent of total U.S. employment.

From the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015, average weekly wages nationwide increased 2.6 percent to $974. Among large counties in Texas, Travis registered the largest increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 3.9 percent, while Midland recorded the largest decrease, down 6.7 percent. (See table 1.) In the third quarter of 2015, Harris had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties at $1,240 and Cameron had the lowest at $615.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 227 counties in Texas with employment levels below 75,000 in 2014. Among these smaller counties, 204 had average weekly wages below the national average in September 2015. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Five of Texas’s 27 large counties recorded wage growth above the 2.6-percent national increase from the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015. Travis County’s 3.9-percent wage increase was the highest in the state and placed 47th in the national ranking, followed by Galveston (3.5 percent, 72nd), Denton (3.0 percent, 117th), Brazoria (2.8 percent, 138th), and Jefferson (2.7 percent, 147th). (See table 1.) In contrast, six Texas counties recorded wage decreases from the third quarter of 2014. Midland, Texas, experienced the largest percentage decrease in the nation, with average weekly wages declining 6.7 percent over the year; the natural resources and mining sector had the largest impact on the county’s average weekly wage decline with a decrease of 8.1 percent over the year.

Nationally, 319 of the 342 largest counties had over-the-year wage increases. Rockland, N.Y., experienced the largest wage gain in the nation, up 24.9 percent. Lake, Ill., had the second largest increase (11.7 percent), followed by Onondaga, N.Y. (6.5 percent), and Washington, Ore. (6.4 percent).

Nationwide, 20 of the largest counties registered wage declines during the period. As noted, Midland, Texas, experienced the largest decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 6.7 percent over the year. Ector, Texas, had the second largest wage decline (-4.9 percent), followed by Lafayette, La. (-3.2 percent), and Stark, Ohio (-2.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 5 of the 27 large Texas counties were at least 10 percent above the national average of $974 per week in the third quarter of 2015. Harris County led at $1,240 per week and ranked 21st among the 342 large counties nationwide. Harris was followed by Midland ($1,177, 31st), Dallas ($1,157, 38th), Collin ($1,126, 43rd), and Travis ($1,122, 45th). Three additional Texas counties reported average weekly wages above the national average: Ector ($1,037, 74th), Jefferson ($1,003, 85th), and Brazoria ($992, 89th).

Texas had four of the lowest-paying large counties in the United States, all located along the border with Mexico: Cameron ($615, 341st), Hidalgo ($624, 340th), Webb ($658, 338th), and El Paso ($698, 331st). Other Texas counties with low national rankings included Brazos ($734, 326th), Lubbock ($779, 294th), and McLennan ($792, 284th).

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average in 100 of the largest counties in the country. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $2,090. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $1,894, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,829), San Francisco, Calif. ($1,712), and Washington, D.C. ($1,667).

Of the largest counties in the United States, 242, or more than two-thirds, reported average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2014. The lowest wage was reported in Horry, S.C., at $598 per week, followed by the Texas counties of Cameron and Hidalgo. Wages in these three lowest-ranked counties were less than 30 percent of the average weekly wage in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, Calif.

Average weekly wages in smaller Texas counties

Twenty-three of the 227 smaller Texas counties – those with employment below 75,000 – reported average weekly wages above the national average of $974. Two of these smaller counties had wages that were also the highest in the state: Carson ($1,347) and King ($1,331). Delta County registered the lowest weekly wage, averaging $399 in the third quarter of 2015. (See table 2.)

When all 254 counties in Texas were considered, all but 31 had wages below the national average. Forty-seven reported average weekly wages under $650, 88 registered wages from $650 to $749, 58 had wages from $750 to $849, 26 had wages from $850 to $949, and 35 had wages of $950 or more per week. (See chart 1.) The counties with the highest average weekly wages were located around the large metropolitan areas of Dallas, Houston, and Austin, as well as the smaller areas of Midland, Odessa, and Amarillo. Lower-paying counties were concentrated in the agricultural areas of central Texas, the Texas Panhandle, and along the Texas-Mexico border.

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2014 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2015 version of the news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2014 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn14.htm. The 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2016.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The 9.6 million employer reports cover 140.4 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised (see Technical Note below) and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 27 largest counties in Texas, third quarter 2015

(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.(2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.